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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Conservatives accurately appraise Barr and the LP.

The conservative American Spectatorsays that Bob Barr “could be the most successful Libertarian presidential candidate in the party’s 37-year history -- and John McCain’s worst nightmare.”

Why do they think this? They say the reason this may be the case is because Bob Barr is no libertarian. They name him as “a leader on behalf of conservative causes” including the very anti-libertarian “Defense of Marriage Act.” They say that if the LP runs a conservative candidate (and NOT a libertarian one) he can “potentially appeal to disgruntled conservatives.”

They acknowledge that because Barr is NOT a libertarian he might have some problems. “Barr's 98 percent American Conservative Union rating, pro-life voting record, and hard line on immigration might help him in the general election. But these positions aren't necessarily assets in a party that is officially pro-choice, supports open borders, and prefers the Nolan Chart to the left-right political spectrum.”

The American Spectator realizes something that some very stupid libertarians, who are promoting Barr, haven’t figured out. The only reason to nominate Barr is if the “Party of Principle” is willing to sell-out its principles. And what will they get in return? The most they can hope for is a tiny percentage of the vote. The LP is becoming a political whore and all they are asking in return is a few cents of income. No one thinks Barr will win -- not even Barr. No one thinks he will promote libertarianism since he’s not a libertarian. So why do it?

I can understand someone who is willing to prostitute themselves because they got an offer they simply can’t refuse. But in Barr’s case he isn’t offering the Libertarian Party a million anything. He is offering the loose change of politics, a few cents worth of action and in return the LP turns itself into something other than a libertarian party. I could almost understand this whoring after Barr if he could win -- almost, but not quite. But I can’t understand why the LP would destroy it’s principles on the cheap.